Home > Corporate > Media Centre
What's in store for CANEX?
An interview with Jean-Marie Pérusse, President CANEX/NATEX and Gerry Baboushkin, VP CANEX.
By Brigitte Smiley, Communications Manager, D Comm, CFPSA Ottawa,
(613) 996-6393, smiley.brigitte@cfpsa.com
I recently had the opportunity to meet with Jean- Marie Pérusse and Gerry Baboushkin to get the scoop on what's in store for CANEX.
|
First let me say that both bring a wealth of experience with them. Did you know that Jean-Marie spent 30 years in the Canadian Forces (CF) as a Finance Officer and Base Exchange Officer both in Canada and Europe? He retired from the military in 1993 and worked for five years as VP NATEX in Geilenkirchen, Germany, followed by five years as VP Merchandise and Services. J.-M. as he likes to be referred to, became President CANEX/NATEX in September 2002.
Similarly, Gerry Baboushkin has more than 27 years of experience in the private retail industry. He held various senior management and executive positions with Pharmx Rexall Drug Stores Ltd, Pharma Plus Drug Mart Ltd, Shoppers Drug Mart and Mac's Convenience Stores. Gerry has extensive knowledge of store operations, marketing, merchandising and retail development.
Here is what they had to say:
BYS: How is CANEX doing as a business?
J.-M.: Our sales went from $83.2 million in 2001 to $89.4 million in 2002, which represents an increase of 7.9 per cent. When we compare our results to figures recently released by Statistics Canada, who reported that sales in the Canadian retail sector went up by 6 per cent for the same period, we consider that CANEX is doing very well.
BYS: What do you attribute this success to?
J.-M.: First and foremost there can be no doubt that our success is due mainly to the great people we have in the field and here at headquarters. I am privileged to have the opportunity to be part of such a great team of dedicated professionals. If we consider the recent renovations we've made to most of our stores, our improved product selection and increased availability of brand name items, the strengthening of our NO INTEREST CREDIT PLAN-which we extended to 24 months, and the addition of more branded food services concepts such as Tim Hortons and Subway, I sincerely feel that CANEX is now well positioned to fulfill its customer service mandate.
GB: We also continually bring enhancements to our strong "Simply the Best" program, which guarantees the best price on every day basic items, and "Club XTra," our customer loyalty program that has returned $1.2 million dollars to our 48,000 members since its inception in the spring 1999.
|
BYS: What do you do with the profit?
J.-M.: We give it back to the CF community. CANEX returned $2.9 million in 2001 and $3.3 million in 2002 to the Base/Wing Funds. These funds are used to support numerous local community projects and recreational activities as determined by the Base/Wing Fund Committee. We also reinvest in our infrastructure. As an example, we recently renovated the stores in Borden, Kingston, Suffield and Valcartier. Many of these locations now have a stand alone retail store, a much brighter grocery store, an ExpressMart, as well as food services courts. We are also in the process of completely rebuilding the CANEX in Halifax and moving it from Shannon Wallace to Windsor Park, which is closer to the base and therefore more convenient for the customers.
BYS: What are CANEX's challenges?
J.-M.: Similarly to other Canadian retailers, our main challenge is the ever-increasing competition in local markets and the emergence of large discount stores.
GB: What is particular to CANEX is the level of deployment that military people are experiencing these days. We found that in some cases, when one parent is deployed, the rest of the family goes back home to live with relatives, which means that they will do their shopping away from the base. Furthermore, when couples are separated they tend not to purchase big-ticket items like stereos, TVs, and furniture.
BYS: How are you facing these challenges?
J.-M.: The same rules of business apply to CANEX as with other Canadian businesses: we have to be competitive to keep the customers coming back.
We know that our customers are savvy and will go where they get the best bang for their buck, so we have to provide quality goods at great prices, as well as first-rate customer service.
To achieve these objectives, we must continue to listen to our customers and adapt our product selection to their ever-changing needs.
BYS: How do you plan to achieve this?
J.-M.: We have a great vision and know that in order to live up to our promises, we must set out a plan on how we get from A to B.
To achieve this, we have recruited industry professionals that will help us achieve our plan. This is why we hired Gerry as our VP CANEX. Gerry has extensive experience in a number of retail arenas such as convenience, department and food stores, as well as general merchandise discount stores. His responsibilities will be store operations, merchandising and marketing.
Some of Gerry's mandates are to ensure that we remain competitive on every day basic items through our "Simply the Best" program and continue to offer an increasing array of product assortment that meets the needs and pricing expectations of our clients.
GB: Most of all we want to enhance our customers' shopping experience, and we want them to take pride in shopping at their CANEX.
|
BYS: In one sentence…what is your ultimate goal for CANEX and how do you plan on reaching it?
J.-M.: Basically, we want to become the shopping destination for all members of the military community for their every-day shopping needs. To do this, we will ensure that we have the right merchandise and that all of our employees have the tools and the training needed to continue to take excellent care of our customers.
Photo Credit: Brigitte Smiley
